The Last Mission: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and a Forgotten Encounter between China and the West

The Last Embassy: The Dutch Mission of 1795 and the Forgotten History of Western Encounters with China

Following "The Gunpowder Age" and "Zelandia",
Historian Tonio Andrade once again challenges the world's assumptions about China among 19th-century Europeans!
The story is as smooth as a novel, and the process and ending are more unpredictable than a novel.
Uncover a true historical story that has almost been forgotten by the world.

"In 1793, Lord Macartney of Britain brought a variety of gifts, a large number of artists, scientists and musicians, and a set of bold proposals. He believed that if these proposals could be realized, they would help to put Sino-British relations on a path of mutual benefit..." Macartney's refusal to kneel and kowtow to China and the image of the Qing Empire as pedantic and rigid in the face of European diplomatic missions are almost well-known to everyone, but is it really so?

European encounters with China were far from unpleasant. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, Ouyang Tai presents a comprehensive and multifaceted account of an era marked by intrigue and war. "The Last Mission" recounts the arduous journey of the Dutch mission to Beijing in 1795, becoming the last European diplomatic delegation to receive a warm welcome at the Chinese court. Why is such a successful mission so little known today? The story of the Qing Empire's interactions with the Dutch mission even exposes a dramatic myth that fundamentally alters our understanding of cultural conflict in the history of Sino-Western relations.

Interspersed with sketches and paintings by Chinese and European artists, The Last Mission allows readers to understand that the Qing court, often misinterpreted as arrogant and narrow-minded, was actually open to new ideas, adaptable, curious, and cosmopolitan. Meanwhile, Europeans, frustrated by their inability to engage with China on equal terms, shaped and ingrained the "cultural clash" theory, asserting the need to bring China into the Western international system, even by force if necessary.

This novel-like historical narrative, filled with adventure, surprise, and a captivatingly realistic story, also features a series of encounters. These include Zheng Zhengsheng, a prudent perfectionist familiar with East Asian culture; Fan Xilan, the flamboyant and self-proclaimed gifted deputy envoy; and Xiao Dejing, the translator known for his sharp, sarcastic, and humorous insights. Furthermore, key characters shape this historical narrative, including the legendary Qianlong Emperor, known for his ten perfections; Heshen, a powerful official with a unique charm despite his gout; and Aixinjueluo Changlin, the incessantly talkative Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

"The Last Mission" also touches on many other people: the porters who carried the precious gifts destined for the emperor; the peasants who assisted with torches and watched from their hiding places in the bamboo forest or from the backs of water buffaloes; the elegant women who traveled by car and stared with curiosity; the Beijing civil servant who woke the mission members with a loud shout every morning; the North Korean envoys who wrote poems about them and gave them medicine; and the young Frenchman Aji who climbed to the rooftop to pick up balls and looked down at some of the ladies for too long. Ouyang Tai unearthed countless archival materials filled with encounters—frustrating, infuriating, confusing, heartwarming, and amusing—each one offering a glimpse into real people who lived and died long ago, but whose emotions and experiences are like those of us today.

Good reviews and recommendations
Kong Lingwei | Wu Lingjun, Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica | Li Wencheng, Professor, Department of History, National Taiwan Normal University | Li Yuzhong, Author of "One History, One Hundred Problems Solved" | Lin Shih-hsuan, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Tsing Hua University | Chen Guodong, Associate Professor, Department of History, National Taipei University | Ye Gaoshu, Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica | Jiang Zhushan, Professor, Department of History, National Taiwan Normal University | Zheng Junde, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of History, National Central University | Lu Zhengheng, Editor-in-Chief of the Reader Community | Xie Jinyu, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University | Historical Writers (in alphabetical order)

Praise from all walks of life
Without a doubt, Ouyang Tai is well-deserved to be called a magician in contemporary historical scholarship. His captivating prose, like a time-travel drama, transports readers back to late 18th-century China, a Dutch diplomatic mission that was little more than a "courtesy mission" without concrete "diplomatic achievements." This book, especially in an era when diplomacy is practically ineffective, offers insights into what diplomacy is all about. —Li Yuzhong, Associate Professor, Institute of History, Tsinghua University
Through the brilliant narrative and historical materials, I can see the most human truth behind the fog of misinterpretation.
Like his previous works such as "The Decisive Battle of Zeelandia: China's First Key Defeat over the West" and "The Gunpowder Age: Why China Weakened and the West Rised? A Thousand Years That Decided Chinese and Western History", Ouyang Tai's recent book "The Last Mission" rediscovers the story of the Dutch mission's visit to the Qing court in 1795 through skillful use of multilingual historical materials such as archives, diaries, and letters from China and Europe. By examining the last European diplomatic mission officially received by Emperor Qianlong, this book provides readers with multiple perspectives on the diplomatic history of the Qing Dynasty and even the world view of late imperial China from a Dutch perspective, thereby challenging the stereotype of modern Chinese history writing as a "closed-door country." - Kong Lingwei | Assistant Researcher at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
In the late 18th century, the Dutch sent envoys to pay tribute to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Through meticulous research, Ouyang Tai provides a wealth of unexpected details about Qing Dynasty history in his book, The Last Mission. — Chen Guodong, Researcher at the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

If you search for Qing Dynasty diplomacy, Wikipedia keywords will bring up restrictive diplomatic policies such as closed-door policy, maritime ban, smoking ban, and treaty ports. Until the Eight-Nation Alliance arrived at the gates and forced China to open its doors, foreign envoys' visits to the emperor were often seen as gifts from barbaric nations. "The Last Mission" presents a different historical perspective. Professor Ouyang Tai uses history as a guide and combines it with the storytelling format of a novel to allow us to see a different encounter between China and the West. I highly recommend this historical novel to everyone who wants to rediscover this forgotten story. —Zheng Junde | Editor-in-Chief of the Reader Community
Ouyang Tai has opened a fascinating window into late 18th-century China. —Mark C. Elliott, Harvard University's leading authority on new Qing history and author of "Emperor Is Also Human: Qianlong, the Manchu Emperor in World History"
Drawing on materials in Dutch, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean, Ouyang Tai vividly recreates the experiences of the Dutch embassy on its way to Beijing to meet Emperor Qianlong in 1795. This book challenges common assumptions about 19th-century European views of China and will be a captivating read. — Evelyn S. Rawski, Distinguished Professor of Chinese History at the University of Pittsburgh
"The Last Mission" tackles a crucial topic long overlooked by historians. Masterfully written, it illuminates the truth and provokes reflection. Ouyang Tai's captivating prose takes readers on a journey through the geography, politics, and culture of Qing China. —Wensheng Wang, Professor at the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Hawaii and author of "The White Lotus Rebellion and Pirates of South China: Crisis and Reform in the Qing Empire."
"The Last Mission" is a rare book in the field of academic history because it is both a story and a major work of historical research. It tells the story of the Dutch mission to the Qing court at a time when the country was under attack from all sides—it contains everything: the competing protagonists, the trials and tribulations, and the glory and environment of the empire. Ouyang Tai's book is a brilliant work that tells a neglected event in the history of diplomacy. —Nicholas Gordon, Fortune magazine
This is one of the best studies of scholarship and writing style I have read in a decade or more... Accessible, stimulating, and inspiring, written with perfect verve and passion. — John Butler, Asian Book Review

2024-05-07

時報出版

448

9786263961791